French photographer killed in Syria's Idlib province

New
York, February 25, 2013--A French freelance photographer died in a Turkish
hospital on Sunday from shrapnel wounds he received while covering the unrest
in Syria's Idlib province three days earlier, according to news reports.

Olivier
Voisin, 38, had contributed work to several local and international
publications, including Le Monde, The Guardian, and Agence France-Presse. His website chronicles his work from some of the world's most
dangerous countries for journalists, including Libya, Haiti, Somalia, Brazil,
and Kenya.

Voisin
had recently crossed into Idlib province and embedded with an armed opposition
group. He was reporting on the operations of the opposition group on Thursday when he was
hit by shrapnel and wounded in the head and arm, news reports said. He was escorted over the border to a Turkish
hospital in the city of Antakya, where he died
on Sunday, news reports
said.

News
accounts did not immediately report whether the shrapnel originated from
government or rebel fire, or if Voisin was targeted. Government forces
frequently shell rebel-held areas with indiscriminate
fire, putting combatant, journalist, and resident alike in danger.

"One
year ago, we mourned the killing of international journalists Marie Colvin and
Rémi Ochlik, and now we mourn again for Olivier Voisin," said Sherif Mansour,
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa coordinator. "Like all journalists covering
the Syrian conflict, they faced risks from all sides, including targeted
killings and the deadly crossfire of combat."

By
controlling local news reports and expelling or denying entry to foreign
journalists, the Syrian government has sought to impose a blackout on independent
news coverage since the country's uprising began in early 2011, CPJ research shows. Despite extremely high risk, international
journalists have continued to smuggle themselves into Syria to cover the
conflict.

Journalists
working in Syria face dangers on all sides, with freelance journalists
confronted with even greater risks. At least 32 journalists have been killed in Syria since the start of the revolution in
2011, making Syria the most dangerous place in the world for journalists in
2012, according to CPJ research.